Ellen Gray

Television Critic

Ellen Gray is the television critic for the Daily News and the Inquirer, and has written about TV since 1994. Her mind will go blank if you ask her to name her favorite show, because she has so many, but she would love to hear about yours.

It appears that South Jersey "American Idol" finalist Jermaine Jones has been disqualified from the show.

Multiple outlets reported Tuesday night that the 6-foot-8 singer had tweeted about his exit -- in a post since removed from Twitter -- and TMZ.com says Jones will be exiting the show Wednesday after lying about his criminal history.

UPDATE: The Smoking Gun website, citing court records, is reporting today that Jones has five outstanding arrest warrants in New Jersey and "is wanted in four separate counties for failing to appear in court on a variety of criminal charges dating back to 2006."

FURTHER UPDATE: Now TMZ is firing back with video that purports to show Jones headed back to Philly in first class, suggesting that if he's seen on tonight's show, it won't be live.

None of the incidents cited by the Smoking Gun -- the least of which appears to be violation of the open-container law, the most serious a 2006 narcotics bust -- would immediately seem to corroborate TMZ's contention that "one of the incidents involved violence, which was particularly troublesome to producers," though there do appear to be two incidents in which he's said to have give false names to police.

If the reports of his ouster are true, Jones, 25, would hardly be the first "Idol" contestant with a criminal past, but applicants fill out extensive disclosure forms and lying is particularly frowned on.

Jones was reportedly confronted by producers on camera, which could make for some interesting footage in Wednesday's show.